


One More Spoonful

by Sherlock5ever



Series: Cough Syrup 'Verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bets & Wagers, Cheerio Kurt, Endgame Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Friends With Benefits, GKM prompt, I'm very sorry, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Jealousy, Kurt is lowkey depressed, Kurt tries to be a wingman, M/M, Manipulation, Nerd Blaine, One-Sided Attraction, Parent Death, Pining, References to Depression, Sex, Slow Burn, Slut Shaming, Tags May Change, Trust Issues, Vulnerable Kurt, but it got way out of hand, except for like two scenes, hook-ups, pretty much everything sexual is implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-14 15:30:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14139000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlock5ever/pseuds/Sherlock5ever
Summary: On the surface, Kurt Hummel has the perfect life. He has a loving father, a large social circle, and Kurt is a member of the Cheerios, meaning he has countless hookups.Blaine Anderson is kind of a nerd, he's also really, really gay. Even though he comes from a wealthy family, Blaine wants nothing more than to survive high school and escape from his family to New York. And maybe get a boyfriend, but not just any boy. Blaine wants the popular football player and Glee Club member, Sam Evans.When Kurt takes up the bet that he can't make Blaine popular, Kurt promises to help Blaine get together with Sam by the end of junior year. However, throughout the year, Blaine and Kurt grow closer than expected and open up about things they never thought they'd ever tell anyone.





	1. The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> GKM prompt link: https://glee-kink-meme.livejournal.com/51636.html?thread=65201332#t65201332
> 
> It's literally from three years ago, but I was inspired. (:
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, chapter two coming soon!

On the surface, Kurt Hummel has the perfect life. He has a loving father, who is almost always away on business trips to congress. He has a large social circle, though Kurt is sure that at least eighty percent of them would literally stab him in the back if they had the chance. Kurt is also a member of the Cheerios, a rigorous cheer squad that guarantees him popularity and countless hookups.

So yeah, Kurt would say that he has a pretty great life, but it’s had its fair share of hardships. But through all of his life’s hardships there is only one person that Kurt knows he can trust, Sebastian. Sebastian has always been there for Kurt, ever since they were in elementary school. Sebastian was there when Kurt’s mother died, he was there when Meredith abandoned Kurt and his father, and he was there when Kurt came out.

Kurt walks down the McKinley High halls, Santana and Brittany trailing close behind him. As Kurt walks through the crowd in his Cheerios uniform he feels powerful, confident, and in control. You could call Kurt a bit of a control freak or an overall bitch. But Kurt has his reasons, reasons that aren’t anyone else’s business but his.

A kid listening to music and writing in a notebook bumps into Kurt as he walks by. Kurt recognizes the kid as Blaine Anderson, the guy in Glee Club that he has a ballet classes with.

“Watch where you’re going, freak!” Santana and Brittany bite out nasty remarks at Blaine as he bends over to pick up the notebook he dropped when he bumped into Kurt.

When Blaine stands up he’s met with a cold slushie to the face. Karofsky and Azimio laugh as they throw away their empty slushie cups and follow the Cheerios the football field for practice.

Grape slushie drips down Blaine’s face onto his notebook. He pushes his way through the crowded halls with a huff, briskly making his way to the bathroom.

Blaine tries hopelessly to cleanse his hair of the grape syrup, there’s really nothing more annoying than having perfectly gelled hair ruined by a slushie attack. He just hopes that this hair fiasco wouldn’t make him late for Glee Club.

Blaine knows that Mr. Schuester would lecture him in front of everyone for being late. Rachel will probably turn it into Blaine being irresponsible and unreliable, and then he’d never get his own solo.

Blaine is a nerd, or is he more of a geek? Well, Blaine is really only a geek about music and Glee Club. A glee geek, a gleek? Blaine is a gleek. He’s also really, really, gay. Blaine wants nothing more than to survive high school and escape from his family to New York. He’d also like to maybe sing a few solos and to win Nationals.

Oh, and a boyfriend. But not just any boy, Blaine wants the popular football player and Glee Club member, Sam Evans. The only problem is that Sam is straight and popular, and Blaine is not.

Once Blaine is satisfied with his hair, he checks the time. “At least this won’t make me late for Glee.” He gives one last glance at himself in the mirror before exiting the bathroom.

 

“Wrong!” Sue shouts through a megaphone into Santana’s ear.

The Cheerios dissolve their pyramid with a huff as Coach Sylvester continues to shout degrading insults at the cheer squad.

“Take a water break you lazy, sweaty pigs.” Sue grumbles, dismissing the Cheerios.

Kurt plops down onto the bleachers with a heavy sigh. Kurt throws his head back and stares into the cloudless sky.

“Coach Sylvester is in a bad mood today.”

Kurt jumps in surprise but quickly turns around to face the owner of the familiar voice.

“Sebastian, Jesus! Don’t scare me like that!” Kurt wails, Santana laughs and tosses Kurt his bottle of water. Instead of taking a drink of the cold water, he squirts it in Sebastian’s face.

“Hey!” Sebastian squawks, “That’s foul play.” Kurt laughs and drinks from the bottle. Santana takes a seat next to Kurt.

“Did you see the look on that kid’s face when Azimio hit him with that slushie?” Santana cackles.

“Which kid?” Kurt asks. Azimio throws a lot of slushies at the people on the bottom of the school’s social ladder, Kurt would know.

“The nerdy one with super gelled hair, he bumped into you in the hallways.” Kurt inwardly cringes, that was Blaine from ballet class.

“I don’t know, he wasn’t that nerdy.”

Kurt feels bad for Blaine, he was great in ballet and his voice was nothing short of amazing. Kurt’s heard Blaine sing to himself as he left ballet and Kurt often thought about joining Glee just to hear Blaine sing more. But Kurt knows what happens to kids in Glee, he’d rather stay safely in his Cheerios uniform.

“Did you see his bowtie? A _bowtie_.”

Kurt personally thought it was kind of charming.

“It wasn’t _that_ bad, a few adjustments to his wardrobe and he would look pretty cool.”

Santana snorts, “Oh please, Blaine Anderson couldn’t be cool no matter what help you gave him.”

Kurt feels his ears burn, “I bet I could.”

A mischievous glint flickers in Santana’s eyes, “A bet, huh?”

Sebastian cuts in, “Guys, I don’t think that this is a very good idea.”

“Yeah, I bet I could.” Kurt says, ignoring Sebastian’s protests.

“Well, let’s set some wagers and rules to this bet, Hummel.” Sebastian eyes Kurt warily, but Kurt keeps his eyes on Santana.

“The winner gets bragging rights and a free dinner at Breadstix, paid by the loser.”

“Alright, Santana you can’t tell anyone about the bet or encourage anyone to bully Blaine, you can’t bully him either.”

“And you can’t let Anderson know about the bet, Hummel. You can’t sleep with him either.”

Sebastian grabs Kurt’s shoulder, “Do you know what kind of bets Santana made in Lima Heights?” Santana smirks pridefully.

Kurt scrunches his face into a scowl and shakes Sebastian’s hand off of his shoulder and holds his hand out to Santana, “Deal.”

Santana Grips Kurt’s hand, “You have till the end of junior year, Lady Hummel.”

Sue Sylvester starts ordering the Cheerios back onto the field and Sebastian grabs Kurt’s hand, “I don’t think this is a good idea, Kurt.”

Kurt tugs his hand away from Sebastian’s, “I’m going through with the bet, Sebastian.” Kurt turns and gives Sebastian one last glance before heading to rejoin the Cheerios, “And I’m going to win.”

Kurt turns away from Sebastian’s concerned eyes and disapproving frown.

 

Blaine hums to himself as he puts away his ballet clothes, ready for the day to finally be over. A hand taps Blaine’s shoulder; he turns around to see Kurt Hummel standing awkwardly behind him.

“It’s Blaine, right?”

“Uh, yeah, Blaine Anderson.”

Kurt smiles, eyes shimmering. Blaine’s never noticed how blue Kurt’s eyes were before, probably because Blaine usually avoids eye contact with anyone on the Cheerios or any other sports team.

Kurt holds his hand out to Blaine, “I’m Kurt.”

Blaine hesitantly takes Kurt’s hand, “Yeah, I know, you’re on the Cheerios.” Blaine drops Kurt’s hand.

“Well, it’s generally rude to not introduce yourself.” Kurt sound upset, which annoys Blaine because why did Kurt come talk to Blaine if he was just going to get upset and throw a slushie in his face tomorrow?

Kurt’s extremely blue eyes suddenly fill with hurt and - oh, he didn’t mean to actually say that.

"I’m sorry that everyone throws slushies at you Blaine, but you have to believe that I would never do that.”

Blaine finds that he doesn’t like Kurt looking hurt, no matter how popular he is or how many of his friends ruin his hair with sticky flavoured syrup.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. You’ve never thrown a slushie at me.”

Blaine suddenly feels very awkward, “Um, what did you want?”

A smile graces Kurt’s face again, “I want to help you become popular.”

…

“What?” Blaine blanches.

“...I know that you’ve been being bullied a lot lately, and I just thought...that I’d help.”

“Why would you want to help me?”

“I just want to help, and makeovers are like crack to me. I’m like Glinda, I see people less fortunate than I and I just...have to help.”

“Okay, Wicked references aside, what if I don’t want your help? I haven’t exactly expressed that I want to be popular. What would be in it for me if I said yes?”

Kurt swallows, “Sam.”

Blaine’s face flushes, “What?”

“You like Sam, right?” Kurt shifts on his feet anxiously. “If you let me help you become popular, I’ll help you get together with Sam.”

Blaine stares at Kurt, “You’d really do that for me?”

Kurt smiles, “Of course, the two of you will be a thing by the end of junior year.”

The end of junior year was four months away; could Blaine really be with Sam in four months?

"Deal."


	2. The Issues

Blaine leans his shoulder against the cold metal lockers with dazed eyes and a dreamlike expression. Kurt tries as subtly as he can to clear his throat and get Blaine’s attention, “Blaine?”

Blaine shoots off of the locker like it was trying to give him the plague. He knits his eyebrows as he turns to Kurt, a frown settling onto his lips. Isn’t it usually rude to interrupt a private moment, even though said private moment was in a very public place?  
  
Kurt follows Blaine’s previous line of vision to Sam - who is having a conversation with Mercedes and Quinn - and raises an eyebrow at Blaine. “Seriously, you’re so obvious, I can’t believe you were surprised that I knew about your crush on Sam.”  
  
Blaine rolls his eyes, “Whatever, what is it that you wanted?”  
  
Kurt gives Blaine another dazzling smile with radiant eyes and Blaine already knows that he’s going to say yes to whatever Kurt asks.  
  
“I want you to meet me at my house after school; I’ll text you the address. Here, let me put my contact in your phone.”  
  
Blaine exchanges phones with Kurt and adds his information. The whole situation is still pretty surreal and Blaine has to keep reminding himself that the conversation with Kurt from last Friday wasn’t just some weird dream.  
  
Kurt takes back his phone and gives Blaine another smile before joining Santana at her locker. She immediately starts to whisper something in Kurt’s ear.  
  
Blaine looks down at his phone and it suddenly hits him, he has Kurt Hummel’s phone number. Blaine opens up his phone’s contact list just to make sure that it’s real.  
  
He opens up the app and there it is…Kurt’s contact information. There’s even a smiley face that Kurt added next to his name.  
  
Maybe Kurt is just a genuinely nice person that Blaine can consider a friend, or maybe it’s some kind of manipulation.  
  
Well if it is a form of manipulation then Blaine is falling for it hard. He doesn’t even ignore the weird feeling he gets when Kurt texts him his address and the time to meet up followed by a winky face sticking out its tongue.  
  
Blaine doesn’t notice the slight skip in his step as he makes his way to the cafeteria for lunch.  
  
  
 When Blaine arrives at Kurt’s house he doesn’t expect it to be as… average as it is.  
  
Blaine’s family is pretty wealthy and his parents are great businessmen, their house is a bit bigger than what Blaine is comfortable with. He knows that Kurt’s dad is the senator of Ohio; he kind of just assumed that their house would be big as well.  
  
When Kurt opens the door for Blaine and he’s all bright eyes and smiles, “Hey, come on in!”  
  
Blaine expected Kurt’s smaller home to be more welcoming and lively than his own, he was wrong. If anything it almost seemed lonelier than Blaine’s own house, and that says a lot.

“Is anybody else home?” From the looks of the house it was as if Kurt was the only one living there.  
  
        “No, my dad is away on a business trip to Washington. He won’t be back for a few weeks.” Kurt motions for Blaine to come sit with him on the sofa.  
  
        As Blaine sits next to Kurt on the couch a grey tabby cat jumps from out of nowhere and Blaine practically screeches when it lands in his lap.  
  
        “Ms. Kitty, no,” Kurt says as he picks the cat up off of Blaine’s lap. “We’re nice to our guests, especially if they’re cute boys.” Okay, so maybe Kurt wasn’t the only one living in his house.  
  
        The cat jumps off of Kurt and saunters away. Blaine turns to Kurt, “Ms. Kitty?”  
  
        Kurt’s cheeks flare with embarrassment. “I was nine when we got her; she’s helped me through some pretty tough times.”  
  
        The air is suddenly thick with a sort of awkwardness and Kurt is visibly uncomfortable. “Um, how about I show you to my room and we can start working on your makeover?”  
  
        There was a lilt in Kurt’s voice asking Blaine to forget that miniscule piece of information that made him appear a little more vulnerable than before. Blaine gives Kurt a reassuring smile to let him know that he got the message and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.”  
  
        Kurt takes Blaine to his room - which is actually the basement but Blaine isn’t going to question it.  
  
         "Alright,” A smile is already back on Kurt’s face again, erasing what vulnerability he had shown Blaine, “First things first, your hair.”  
  
        Blaine frowns and reaches his hands up to touch his gelled hair, “What’s wrong with my hair?”  
  
        Kurt scoffs, “Oh, please. Not even I would date someone with that much gel in their hair.”  
  
        Kurt steps towards Blaine and begins ruffling his hair. “Hey, stop!”  
  
        Kurt abruptly pulls his fingers out of Blaine’s meticulously gelled curls. A few of the dark curls fall over Blaine’s forehead and Kurt swallows, his eyes locking with Blaine’s for a moment.  
  
        “Sorry, that was kind of rude. I actually think your hair looks really nice, just… maybe a little bit less gel next time.”  
  
        Blaine’s mouth suddenly feels dry, “Right.”  
  
        The two finally break eye contact and Kurt turns away from Blaine and towards his closet instead.  
  
        “Now for clothes,” Kurt throws his closet doors open and starts filing through his blouses. “You can borrow some of my clothes but we’ll have to go shopping for you eventually.”  
  
        Blaine can’t help the frown that settles onto his face. Blaine like the way he looks and the way that he dresses. This is supposed to help him become popular, to stop getting bullied and to get together with Sam…but it this really worth it?  
  
        After sorting through the clothes in his closet and setting a few clothing items onto his bed spread; Kurt opens a drawer on his vanity and pulls out a roll of measuring tape and a small notebook.  
  
Kurt motions for Blaine to hold out his arms and he starts recording measurements. “I can probably take a few clothing items and redesign them.” Kurt wraps the tape around Blaine’s chest and writes down a few measurements. “I’m kind of big on fashion, it’s a shame I don’t get to display it often but that’s one of the prices you pay to be on the Cheerios. Here, hold your arms out again.”  
  
Kurt wraps the measuring tape around Blaine’s bicep and squints at the number. “Do you work out?”

“Wha-”  
  
“I mean, do you work out aside from ballet?”  
  
“Um, I box?” Blaine suddenly feels flustered.  
  
Kurt takes the measuring tape around Blaine’s arm and begins to unwrap it, “Shame there isn’t a boxing team at McKinley, and it would definitely give you a reputation boost.”  
  
Kurt goes back to measuring Blaine’s torso.

“Kurt, wait - stop!”

Kurt jerks his hands away from Blaine and the measuring tape falls to the floor. He hadn’t expected Blaine to yell like that.  
  
“What’s wrong with my reputation - or my hair, or my clothes?”  
  
Kurt is too stunned to speak so Blaine continues.  
  
“Just because you want to help me become popular doesn’t mean that you can go and just change everything about the way that I act and the way that I look! I actually like who I am and the way that I look Kurt.”  
  
Kurt feels his face begin to burn, “What is that supposed to mean?!”  
  
“It’s supposed to mean that you’re so fake Kurt! You just do and say whatever people want because you’re so afraid of not being popular! You flinch at even the smallest form of vulnerability and you push yourself away from people and act like an asshole!”  
  
Kurt feels the beginning of tears in his eyes and silently wills it away because he doesn’t want to cry, damn it!  
  
Blaine takes a few steps back and sits down on the edge of Kurt’s bed with a sigh. He said a lot more than he meant to and - oh God, Kurt’s crying, shit!  
  
Kurt presses the heels of his palms into his eyes and takes a deep breath before exhaling slowly and joining Blaine on his bed.  
  
It’s silent for a few moments as the two take in everything Blaine wishes he hadn’t said.  
  
The silence is interrupted by the sound of Blaine’s ringtone. Blaine reluctantly pulls out his phone and checks the caller ID. When Blaine checks his phone Cooper’s face fills his screen. Oh, he forgot to tell Cooper that he’d be at Kurt’s and wouldn’t be able to call him until later.  
  
Not really wanting to talk to Cooper right now, Blaine tosses his phone across Kurt’s bed spread and instead listens to the rest of the song play out until it ends at the max number of rings.  
  
The song dies out and it’s brutal silence again.  
  
Kurt is the first to speak again, “You have good taste in music. It’s “Teenage Dream,” right?”  
  
He smiles softly and Blaine returns it, “Yeah, I’m kind of a Katy Perry fan.”  
  
Kurt smiles again and looks down, “I know. You always hum her songs after ballet.”  
  
From Blaine’s facial expression, he’s pretty surprised. “Really, you paid attention to that?”  
  
“Of course I do, you’re a really great hummer. Er- well, I mean,” Kurt’s been flustered since the beginning and he takes a few seconds to try and compose himself. “You have a great voice and that shows when you’re humming - and you’re really good a humming too, but you’re not a hummer, obviously not a car - but even when you’re not humming and you’re just singing during Glee you sound great and-”  
  
“You’ve heard me sing during Glee?”  
  
After having his nervous ramble cut off Kurt flushes from embarrassment. “If I have time and I get out of Cheerio practice early enough, I like to stand outside the choir room and listen to you guys sing.” Kurt suddenly frowns, “But I wish they would let you sing more, you’re so good.” Blaine feels his face flushing this time.  
  
Kurt tries - and fails - to swallow the lump in his throat before he continues speaking. “I used to love singing. My mom and I used to sing all of the time before she died.” He pauses and rubs dryly at his eyes. “We used to put on these little shows for my dad. But now every time I try singing it just brings back a lot of sad memories.”  
  
Kurt doesn’t like talking about his mom; it just makes him sad and uncomfortable. But at this moment it just seems like the right thing to do.  
  
Blaine shifts on the bed to face Kurt. All of his sudden his mouth feels dry and cottony, like his tongue is too heavy. “Then let’s try and start making happy memories.”  
  
Kurt can’t help the tears that fall when Blaine opens his mouth and begins singing.  
  
_“Never knew I could feel like this_ __  
_Like I’ve never seen the sky before_ __  
_Want to vanish inside your kiss.”_  
  
Kurt is so enraptured by the soft tremble of Blaine’s voice that he almost forgets that he’s supposed to be singing to.  
  
_“Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place_ __  
_Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace_ __  
_Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste.”_  
  
Kurt’s voice is too quiet and shaky, he wants to stop. He just can’t stop thinking and thinking and thinking. And Kurt doesn’t want to think anymore. He doesn’t want to think his mom, or his dad, or Meredith, or about how unhappy he is. He just wants all of it to stop.  
  
Blaine grabs Kurt’s hand when he closes his eyes and cries harder. Blaine isn’t really sure what to do so he just squeezes Kurt’s hand and whispers quietly, “It’s okay. You can do this Kurt. You’re so brave; I know you can do it.”  
  
Kurt opens his eyes to meet Blaine’s and sings the loudest he has in years.  
  
_“And there’s no mountain too high_ __  
_No river too wide_ __  
_Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side_ __  
_Storm clouds may gather_ __  
_And stars may collide.”_ __  
__  
Blaine stops singing and Kurt’s voice is soft again but it’s steady and strong. Blaine sits and realizes how beautiful Kurt is with his high, clear voice and his watery blue eyes.  
  
_“But I love you_ __  
_Until the end of time”_  
  
Blaine takes in the raw emotion in Kurt’s voice, it dawns on him that maybe Kurt needs a real friend as much as Blaine does and that maybe they can find that in each other…maybe. Blaine opens his mouth and begins to sing again.  
  
_“Come what may_ __  
_Come what may_ __  
_I will love you_  
_I will love you._ ”  
  
After the song is done it’s quiet again. It’s a different kind of quiet then before, it’s content. “You’re beautiful.” Blaine clears his throat, “You’re voice, I mean.”  
  
Kurt wipes away the rest of his tears and smiles at Blaine. “Thank you.”  
  
Blaine can hear in Kurt’s voice and see it in his so very blue, puffy eyes that it’s not for the compliment.  
  
“And I’m sorry that I called you fake, Kurt, because it’s not true. You are one of the most genuine people that I have ever met and I’m so sorry that I said that.”  
  
Kurt smiles, “How about we try and come to a compromise.”  
  
Blaine raises and eyebrow in confusion, “A compromise?”  
  
Kurt nods, “You’ll have full control over what we will and will not do to help you get together with Sam. And I’ll promise to be less of an asshole.”  
  
Blaine laughs and Kurt can’t help the way that his smile grows. “I promise to start opening up more and doing things because I want to.” Kurt pauses and quietly adds, “I promise to start singing more.”  
  
Blaine smirks, “I think I like the sound of that. You’ve got yourself a deal Mr. Hummel.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure when Chapter Three will be out, but I am working on it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. <3
> 
> Edit: I accidentally uploaded my unedited draft, I went back and uploaded the correct one. Sorry for the inconvenience. (:


	3. The Little Details

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note before the beginning of the chapter: I'm finally able to start working on this story again! A little after I posted the second chapter, my computer charger broke. Now that I have everything up and running again, I will hopefully have a new chapter out every month or so (some might be earlier or later than others).
> 
> I'd also like to credit my friend for being my beta for this fic, she has been so wonderful, amazing, and hilarious to work with! You can check out her tumblr here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/albatraozasparagus (and if you wanna check out my tumblr  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sherlock5ever you can send me asks or stalk me or something)

Blaine has only recently become fully aware of what he’s gotten himself into.

Let’s set the scene. Blaine Devon Anderson, music nerd and resident Glee Club loser, is eating lunch with a gaggle of McKinley Cheerios in the cafeteria. And he hasn’t even been blackmailed or manipulated to do something that will only end with him exhausted and humiliated. Blaine’s eyes flicker over to Kurt, who is eating a very bland looking piece of celery.

‘Or maybe not…’ Blaine thinks cautiously as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

“Ew, how can you eat that?” Santana questions with a lilt of disgust in her voice.

Blaine looks from his sandwich to Santana and then back to his sandwich several times before finally asking, “A peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”

“Do you know how many carbs there are in peanut butter?” Santana deadpans.

A few of the Cheerios snicker and Blaine feels his face burn from embarrassment. Kurt sends Santana a pointed glare and a swift kick to her shin from underneath the table.

“I used to let Lord Tubbington eat peanut butter but he’s not allowed to anymore because he sold my laptop on Craigslist for drug money last week.”

                                  

The lunch table descends into awkward silence as no one was properly prepared to respond to something like that, but Blaine is grateful that the attention is taken off of him.

If he’s honest, lunch with the more popular peoples of McKinley is going much better than he had originally anticipated when Kurt had approached Blaine with the suggestion at his locker earlier that day. The most Blaine has had to suffer were a few sneers and condescending glares from Santana and the other Cheerios.

Blaine glances at Kurt; his attention is now on a more appetizing slice of cucumber.

Despite the snarky comments and questioning glances from passing students, there’s not much for Blaine to complain about. People have been noticing him more and he’s only been slushied twice this week and the second time Kurt practically scolded Shane’s ear off for doing it.

“Well, it’s been nice eating with you all, but I have a paper due in English so I should be heading to the library.” As Blaine begins to stand up Kurt quickly grabs his hand.

“Wanky.” Santana unhelpfully comments.

“Meet me at my locker after school.” Kurt says, choosing to ignore Santana for now. Blaine doesn’t have time to respond before Kurt turns around and begins reprimanding Santana for her rude behavior.

 

* * *

 

Blaine is sitting in the library, still fussing over his English paper, when he remembers that he’s supposed to be meeting Kurt at his locker.

“Shit,” he curses quietly and checks the time on his watch. He was supposed to meet Kurt fifteen minutes ago.

Blaine is annoyed with himself for missing whatever it was Kurt wanted to talk to him about. Kurt’s probably annoyed with Blaine too and has already decided to leave. Maybe he’ll decide to drop Blaine and this stupid project all together.

That thought makes Blaine feel...disappointed, but he’s not very sure why. It’s not like he needs to be popular. Sure he would definitely like to be with Sam, but he can get there all on his own.

Or maybe it’s Kurt that he would be missing out on.

Blaine shakes his head, “Whatever, I don’t have time to stand here and think about it, Kurt’s definitely already left by now. I should just go home and apologize to Kurt later.”

Blaine should turn around and leave, but he finds himself taking the long way towards Kurt’s locker instead.

 

 

Kurt leans against his locker and taps his foot impatiently. He huffs and pulls his phone out for the fourth time in the past five minutes, “Where the hell is Blaine? He’s way too punctual to be this late...unless maybe something happened.”

Kurt is suddenly overcome with every single bad thing that could have possibly happened to Blaine. Did Santana break her part of the deal and maybe slushie Blaine, causing a delay? Or maybe Shane wanted to get revenge for the embarrassing scene Kurt had caused earlier that week and decided to get the other McKinley jocks to dump Blaine into a rubbish bin? Perhaps Blaine’s house caught on fire or his parents got into a car accident? Kurt scrambles to open up the contacts on his phone to call or text Blaine.

“You be careful with that fag.” A bitter voice says from behind Kurt.

Kurt freezes on the spot, fear striking through him like an icy venom. He shifts his feet and grips his messenger bag tighter to steady himself.

“Excuse me?” Kurt says after regaining his voice and turns to his harasser.

“You heard me.” Karofsky says, backing Kurt up against the lockers.

Kurt has the fleeting thought to cry out for help or to run away or to defend himself. However, he quickly realizes how useless he is against Karofsky. No one is at school after hours, even Blaine has probably left by now, and Karofsky is nearly twice Kurt’s size. He wouldn’t even last five seconds in a fight with one of McKinley’s star football players.

He moves closer to Kurt and he can feel Karofsky’s breath against his face.

“Kurt, are you still here? I’m sorry that I missed…”

Karofsky turns away from Kurt to face Blaine, who is growing angrier every second he realises what he just walked in on.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Blaine growls and clenches his fist into a tight ball.

Karofsky scoffs and shoves his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket. “I was just leaving.” Karofsky makes his way out the doors, knocking his shoulder against Kurt’s on his way out.  Kurt rushes to grab a hold of Blaine before he can go after Karofsky.

“Don’t, leave him.”

Blaine turns and takes one look in Kurt’s eyes and his anger towards Karofsky melts away. “Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?”

Kurt shakes his head, “No, no, I’m fine. Karofsky just decided to be more of an asshole than usual today.”

Blaine looks down, “I’ve should’ve gotten here sooner.”

“Hey, this isn’t your fault. Karofsky wouldn’t have done anything, he’s all talk.”

“I still should’ve been here. If I had gotten here on time Karofsky wouldn’t have even approached you.”

“Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself just fine. I’m sure that even if you were here, Karofsky would’ve just bothered both of us anyways.”

“But if I-”

“Uh-uh, nope, we are not having a guilt complex today, Mr. Anderson. Let’s just say that you owe me a coffee for being late and call it even.”

 

 

Kurt starts up his car and reaches for his case of CDs, but Blaine stops him. “Hey, shotgun chooses music. That’s, like, car seating law.” Kurt rolls his eyes, “Fine, but I’m buying the most expensive damn coffee.” 

Blaine laughs and flips through the soundtracks, “Phantom, Les Miz, Wicked, Gypsy, Moulin Rouge…. Are there any musicals you don’t have?”

“Hmm, I don’t think I have Hello, Dolly.” Kurt says absent mindedly as he pulls out of the school’s parking lot.

Blaine selects a CD and turns to face Kurt, “So, what’s this mystery location we’re heading too?”

“The mall,” Kurt says.

“The mall,” Blaine repeats.

Kurt nods, “Clothes shopping, and coffee, don’t think I’m not going to hold up on your end of the bargain. And don’t worry; you have full reign over what clothes we buy...with my creative input of course.”

“Of course, I would never dare go against your “creative input,” Mr. Hummel.” Blaine says as he enters the soundtrack into the car radio.

A familiar tune wafts from the radio and Kurt laughs, “Of course you’d pick this one.”

“What can I say? I have a thing for Meryl Streep.” Blaine smiles at Kurt before singing along with the radio.

 

_“Honey honey how he thrills me_

_A-ha, honey honey_

_Honey honey, nearly kills me_

_A-ha, honey honey_

_I've heard about him before_

_I wanted to know some more_

_And now I know what they mean, he's a love machine_

_Oh, he makes me dizzy”_

 

Kurt nearly swerves off the road with how hard he’s laughing and he’s pretty sure the guy behind him just gave him the finger and cut in front of him, but he can’t find it in him to care as he sings along.

 

_“Honey honey, let me feel it_

_A-ha, honey honey_

_Honey honey, don’t conceal it_

_A-ha, honey honey”_

 

Blaine applauds Kurt and begins singing harmony. He supposes he’d be happy to sing back up for Kurt.

 

_“The way that you kiss goodnight_

_(The way that you kiss me goodnight)_

_The way that you hold me tight_

_(The way that you’re holding me tight)_

_I feel like I wanna sing_

_When you do your…”_

 

Kurt and Blaine make eye contact and both shriek at the same time, _“Thing!”_

Both boys burst into giggles and Kurt actually snorts, which makes Blaine laugh even harder. It takes them the rest of Amanda Seyfried’s number to calm down to a normal level of breathing.

“Okay, okay, next song,” Blaine says, a little light-headed from laughing so hard. Kurt gasps and resists the urge to let go of the steering wheel and start clapping. “Money, money, money!” He chants. Blaine nods his head manically, still high on adrenaline, as the next track begins to play. 

 

 

Kurt and Blaine enter the Lima mall, working their way past the food court.  “I think the only coffee place they have here is Starbucks,” Blaine says. Kurt groans loudly, “Fine, get me a grande nonfat mocha. I’ll be changing in the bathroom.”

 

Kurt returns for his mocha a few minutes later adorned in a full length coat, and probably at least three other layers. Blaine is pretty dumbfounded considering it’s the middle of March. 

“You look, um...good.” Blaine manages to say.

Kurt seems to preen at the compliment, “Thank you, now, let the shopping commence!” Blaine should’ve known there and then from the glimmer in Kurt’s eyes that everything was about to go horribly wrong. 

 

 

Blaine regrets everything.

They’re only ten minutes in and Kurt already has five shirts, two blouses, three pairs of pants, and one pair of shoes piled into Blaine’s arms to try on.

“Remember, if there’s anything that doesn’t fit, I can always alter it later.” Kurt says as he ushers Blaine into the dressing room, “Oh my God, they have scarves!” Kurt starts sorting through the scarves to see which one would “match Blaine’s eyes the best. 

This is going to be a long day.

 

Blaine’s arms hurt. How the hell can one person buy so many clothes? Even with a wealthy family, Blaine has never spent _this_ much at one time, especially on _scarves alone_. (And Blaine _personally_ thinks that an olive coloured bow tie would match his eyes best, but his opinion never matters.) 

“Kurt, how much longer is this going to take?” Blaine is on the verge of begging Kurt to strangle him with one of the many designer scarves they’ve bought.

“A gentleman is always patient, Blaine.” Kurt says.

“We’ve been here for _three hours, Kurt._ I’m starting to lose the feeling in my arms from all of these bags.”

Kurt pretends to mull over Blaine’s misery before letting out a huff, “Fine. I suppose we can cut our trip a bit short. I can always design the rest of your clothes anyhow.” Kurt’s eyes light up and he shoves two more bags into Blaine’s arms. “You, Mr. Anderson, are going to be sporting only the _finest_ Kurt Hummel originals.” 

Blaine gives Kurt a tired smile, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

The drive to Blaine’s house goes about as smooth as it can. They continue their trek through the Mamma Mia soundtrack, taking brief pauses to talk or _spill the tea_ , as Kurt says.

Kurt’s car pulls up in front of Blaine’s house and he suddenly wishes that he didn’t ask Kurt to leave the mall early. It’s hard to come home after spending an evening like that with Kurt.

Kurt shuts off his car’s engine and unbuckles his seatbelt, “Let me help you carry all these bags inside.”

“Oh, no, that _really_ isn’t necessary.” Blaine says and frantically attempts to gather all the bags.

“Don’t be silly, I already made you carry them while we were shopping. Besides, I have to show you what pieces I’ve put together for your outfits this week.”

Blaine begrudgingly lets Kurt carry some of the bags but hesitates once they reach his front door.

Kurt shifts the bags in his hands to look at Blaine, “Blaine is something wrong?” He frowns and continues, “You look worried.”

Blaine quickly shakes his head and smiles, “No, everything is fine.” Blaine grabs the door knob, God, when did his hands get so sweaty?

 

When Kurt and Blaine enter Blaine’s house, they’re met with a large meticulously cleaned and organised living room. Blaine’s mother is sat in a chair, reading a book and drinking coffee. Blaine’s father is on the sofa bent over three manila folders, their contents spread out on the coffee table. Kurt’s face grows hot when he realises that they had just interrupted their conversation.  

“Blaine, honey, you’re home early.” Blaine’s mother says as she sets down her book.

Blaine clears his throat awkwardly, “Yeah, we cut the trip a bit short…”

Blaine’s mother only now seems to notice Kurt and her smile brightens as she extends her hand, “Oh, how rude of me! It’s so nice to meet one of Blaine’s _friends_.” Blaine’s father’s back straightens a change from his previously stagnant presence in the room. 

Blaine shifts uncomfortably as she enthusiastically shakes Kurt’s hand, “Kurt, this is my mom. Mom, this is my _friend_ Kurt.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Anderson.”

“Oh, please, call me Pam.”

Blaine’s father coughs and gives a pointed glare to Pam.

Pam turns around and returns the glare. The energy in the room becomes restless and uncomfortable.

“John, why don’t you introduce yourself to Kurt?”

“Why should I?” John grumbles and resituates himself into the couch.

Pam voice rises a bit in volume, “Because it’s polite, and I can’t imagine anyone in the Anderson family being rude to a guest.”

John scoffs, “I hardly consider this a guest.”

Blaine grabs Kurt’s shoulder, “Let’s go upstairs”

Kurt nods and turns away from the shouting match that has started in Blaine’s living room, and follows Blaine to his room.

 

Blaine closes the bedroom door behind him to muffle the sounds of his parents yelling and turns to Kurt is stiltedly sitting on the edge of Blaine’s bed, the shopping bags scatter around the foot of the bed.

“I’m sorry about them, they can’t seem to behave when their around each other.”

Kurt smiles, “It’s fine, should we get to your outfits? I’m thinking we start with the scarves first…”

Blaine grabs Kurt’s hand to stop him from grabbing the shopping bag. “You keep the scarves, Kurt.”

Kurt blinks in confusion, “Pardon?”

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully, “Oh, please, I know you bought those scarves mostly for yourself. I’m not as big of a scarf person as you, and lavender doesn’t exactly bring out _my_ eyes.”

Kurt chuckles. “Oops.”

There’s a loud bang and the sound of something breaking and Kurt flinches.

“Are you okay?” Blaine places a hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine, are _you_ okay?”

Blaine turns and looks at his door, it’s quiet. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? Should we make sure everything is okay?”

“No, Dad probably left and Mom usually needs time to calm down after things like this happen.”

Kurt frowns, “Does it happen a lot?”

Blaine looks down, “All the time, even more since Mom filed a divorce.”

"Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Blaine scoffed, “Don’t be, John Robert Anderson is a first class asshole father and husband. I’m glad he’ll be leaving.”

“...Do you want to talk about it?” Kurt asks.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you with it.”

“Blaine, look at me, please.”

“No.”

“Why?" 

Blaine sniffles, “Because I’m crying and I look ugly when I cry.”

“Blaine, I seriously doubt that you could ever look ugly.” Blaine gives a hollow laugh.

“No, I’m serious, Blaine, now look at me.”

Blaine turns to face Kurt, eyes red-rimmed and teary.

“Blaine, last week I promised you that I would open up more. You can open up to me too. We’re friends, Blaine, you can talk to me. And you could never bother me by talking about something that makes you this upset.”

Blaine takes a deep breath, “Okay.”

“Well, I guess my family has always had problems. I don’t think my parents ever loved each other, they dated casually in college, but then Mom got pregnant with Cooper. Mom grew up in a divorced household and she didn’t want Cooper to go through what she did. Dad came from a wealthy family and having an illegitimate child would be treated as a huge scandal. The obvious decision to them was to get married.”

Blaine paused, taking a breath before continuing. “So they did the whole “marriage and baby” thing and pretended to be this little nuclear family. It's always been the little details with my dad, and Cooper was practically a golden child. He excelled in school, he’s charismatic and charming. I could never compete with him. I was a surprise, ten years after Cooper. I had these...standards to live up to because of Cooper, not that I resent him for it, but all of my childhood was this uphill battle to please my family.  Dad was tough with me, Cooper was distant, and Mom was just a bystander.”

“But it was okay, I could hold my own. Cooper decided that he didn’t want to go to college and wanted to move to California to pursue a career in acting. Dad and Cooper fought over it a lot, but Cooper left for California anyways and suddenly _I_ was in Dad’s good graces. He started paying more attention to me and pressuring me to go into a “respectable” career, like law or something in the medical field.”

“But you don’t want to do that, do you?" Kurt asks.

Blaine shakes his head, “No. I...I want to be a musician, but I know that my dad would never approve.” Blaine laughs sardonically, “I can’t even finish a stupid song, of course he wouldn’t support me.” 

Kurt frowns, “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true! I’ve never finished a song. I keep writing and revising, but I always end up throwing it away. It’s never good enough.”

“Maybe you just need some help. Some sort of inspiration or second opinion. You don’t have to do it all by yourself, Blaine.” Kurt places his hand over Blaine’s, “I’d really love to hear some of your songs, even the unfinished crappy ones.”

Blaine chuckles, “Sure, I’ll show you one day.”

 "So what are you going to tell your dad?”

“I honestly don’t know. The only reason he pays attention to me at all is because of Cooper. I think my dad expects Cooper to come back anyways. I don’t think he has seriously considered me as an option to head the family since I came out. I remember that he wouldn’t talk to me for weeks. Mom finally decided that she had enough of being a bystander and they’ve been fighting like that since.”

Blaine lets out a deep breath and feels the tension he’s been holding in his entire life ease, “Thank you, Kurt, for listening. I actually do feel a lot better.”

Kurt holds Blaine’s hand tightly and smiles, “Anytime.”

 


	4. The Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight Trigger Warnings for Mentions of Self Harm, Implied Sexual Content, and a Brief Description of Blood/Injury
> 
>  
> 
> I took a brief hiatus from this story because I felt a little stuck on it and I had some other ideas that I really wanted to work on (for any of you who have read Raindrops on Roses, I am currently working on the next chapter and it will hopefully be out in the next couple of months or so). 
> 
> I have every intention of finishing this story, however the updates will be a few months a part and probably will not be on scheduled uploads. However, finals are right around the corner, so I will have more free time to write during the summer. 
> 
> Big thanks to my friends Albatraoz Asparagus and Volacaria for betaing this chapter!  
> Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated (:

Kurt watches Blaine in between classes. He’s dressed in the latest ensemble that Kurt had organised for him earlier that week. Kurt sighs. Gosh, those pants were a good choice. Kurt furrows his brows, speaking of the pants, they seem to be a bit too long judging by how they were rolled up over Blaine’s ankles. Kurt makes a mental note to ask Blaine about it later.

Santana leans against the locker next to Kurt, “That’s some pretty intense eye sex, are you sure you’re not screwing Anderson? Because according to my recollection, doing the deed with Helmet Hair over there would be an infringement to the rules of our bet, Lady Hummel.”

“Oh please, Satan, I’m not sleeping with Blaine. I know that keeping your legs shut to anything that can say the word “yes” is hard for you, but I’m not like that. I actually value my relationship with Blaine, and I wouldn’t ruin that just because I couldn’t keep my hands to my damn self.”

Santana smirks, “But you admit that you want to get in to Mister Rogers’ pants, right?” Kurt blatantly rolls his eyes at Santana. “Aw, are you blushing, Hummel?”

Kurt scoffs, “Of course I’m not, don’t be so crude.”

“A word of advice, Twinkle Von Trapp, if you ever feel like throwing in the towel on this bet and buying me some sweet, delicious, unlimited breadsticks, don’t be afraid to face your feelings about Blaine. You two have something special, Kurt.” With that, Santana pushes herself off the lockers, leaving Kurt alone to comprehend what she had just said to him.

What? What the hell even was that? Kurt blanches, watching as Santana carelessly chats up Brittany after telling him to throw away their month-old bet, and attempt to give him advice about his love life. As if he needs anything like that. His personal life is completely under control.

Kurt looks over to Blaine, who is talking to Sam and Tina. Blaine bashfully thanks Tina as she gushes over his outfit. He makes eye contact with Kurt and smiles, giving him a small wave.

Kurt’s face warms and he waves back. _Huh._

 

Kurt feels an arm on his shoulder and he turns away from Blaine to see Sebastian behind him with a displeased expression.

“Oh, Sebastian!” Kurt smiles, “It feels like weeks since we last spoke.”

“That’s because it has been weeks, Kurt. Ever since you took up Anderson as a little project, I’ve barely seen you.”

“God, you’re right. I’m sorry. How about we hang out soon, just the two of us? Maybe sometime this weekend...no, Blaine and I are doing karaoke this weekend.”

“Karaoke _?_ ” Sebastian asks skeptically.

“Yeah.” Kurt smiles besottedly, “Blaine has a wonderful voice. You should hear him sing sometime, Bas, he’s amazing. I really wish I could hear him sing more often.”

“Oh no you don’t, Hummel.” Sebastian says as he crosses his arms in disapprovement.

“What?”

“You only get that look on your face when you’re thinking of doing something stupid.”

“ _Stupid?_ ” Kurt asks incredulously.

“Please don’t tell me that you’re thinking of joining _glee_ of all things. Not even your place on the Cheerios will save you from that! It’s social suicide, Kurt.”

“You are completely overreacting. Okay, so maybe I was thinking about joining glee. Singing makes me happy and it gives me more time to spend with Blaine. It can’t be as bad as you’re making it out to be.”

“Blaine? What’s so good about Blaine? He’s just some stupid nerd that you have a bet with Santana over dinner at a restaurant that doesn’t even have good food.”

“This whole bet nonsense is just something for Santana to focus on. She tends to get into trouble when she gets “bored.”” Kurt pauses and smiles, “Blaine and I have actually started to become really good friends.”

Sebastian’s nose scrunches up in distaste, “I’d say that the two of you are more than _good friends_.”

Kurt groans, “Not you too.”

“Well, it’s hard not to think that when you make that face every time that someone mentions him!”

“Why are you so upset?!” Kurt asks, raising his voice.

“I’m not upset!” Sebastian shouts.

A few people in the hallway, including Blaine, look over at Sebastian and Kurt. Sebastian takes a deep breath and lowers his voice to a whisper.

“I don’t think Anderson is a good person for you to be around. He can’t keep you safe here. The more time the two of you spend together, the larger the target on your back becomes. You’ll understand that soon enough, Hummel. Come find me when you want to be with someone who can actually protect you.” Sebastian turns around and leaves, glaring at the students still watching him as he exits the hallway.

 

“What do you think that was all about?” Blaine asks Tina and Sam after Sebastian leaves.

“I don’t know, dude. Kurt is your friend, not ours.”

Kurt is his friend. He’s a friend who just got into a fight with one of his other friends. Should Blaine go over to Kurt and say something to comfort him? Or ask if he wants to talk about it? Blaine glances nervously down at his watch.

“It’s almost time for class to start. We should probably be leaving soon...”

Guess that means that he _won’t_ be comforting Kurt right now. Maybe he can send him a quick text and ask if everything is alright and if he wants to meet up after school?

“You guys go on ahead. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. Coach Beiste wanted to run some game strategies by me before practice this afternoon.” As Sam leaves, Mercedes and Rachel walk up to Tina and Blaine.

“Hey, girls, Tina and I were just about to leave if you want to walk with us.” Blaine says, taking notice to the sheet music that Rachel is in the process of stuffing into a worn folder littered with gold star stickers.

“Actually,” Tina says, “Mercedes, Rachel, and I were hoping that we could talk to you.”

“Uh, sure? Is there a problem or something?”

“Or something.” Mercedes says, causing Blaine to give her a confused look. Mercedes rolls her eyes. “It’s about you and that pretty boy cheerleader of yours.”

“We girls are concerned about the meaning of your relationship and that you may have been coerced by his good looks and leg kicks. We believe that you’ve started down a path of unquestionable destruction and despair.” Rachel says, blinking away a few tears for dramatic effect.

Tina clears her throat, “What Rachel _means,_ Blaine, is that we’re afraid that Kurt may be using you, and that being friends with him will only get you hurt.”

“But Kurt is my friend. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Gullible as always, Blainey Days.”

“I’m choosing to ignore that, Tina. Besides, what could Kurt use me for? He’s a Cheerio.”

“ _Exactly_.” Mercedes says.

“He’s probably using you for Sue’s new plot to destroy the Glee Club.” Rachel says.

“Or maybe he’s planning to publicly humiliate you for his own sadistic gratification. Cheerios are evil like that.”

Blaine rolls his eyes, “I think you guys are seriously underestimating Kurt. He’s not like the other Cheerios, he’s sweet and a good listener and a really great friend.”

“Oh, no.” Tina groans.

Blaine continues, “Kurt has such an amazing voice too. I’ve been thinking about asking him if he’d like to join glee.”

“Homeboy’s got it bad.”

“Oh, Blaine you can’t!”

“He’s only going to end up singing backup for Rachel like the rest of us anyways!”

“Hey!” Rachel swats Tina with her star covered folder.

“It’s true!” Tina whines, gold stars falling off the folder and sticking to her hair and clothes.

“Guys, we need to leave or else we’re going to be late.” Blaine says.

“Fine, but don’t think that this conversation is over, Blaine Anderson!” Rachel says, pointing the folder threateningly at Blaine’s chest.

“Whatever you say, Rachel.”

As the group heads down the hallway, Blaine pauses and pulls out his phone to send a text to Kurt. Maybe they can talk and make plans after class. Blaine smiles to himself and nods. What a great plan! He catches up to his fellow glee mates, a new spring in his step.

Kurt feels a buzz in his pocket when he sits down at his desk. He glances around and quickly pulls his out his phone and sees that he received a text from Blaine.

_I saw what happened with Sebastian in the hallway, and I just want to make sure that you’re okay._

Kurt smiles and types out a short response before he can get caught.

_I’m okay. Sebastian was being an asshole. Meet me at my locker after class._

Blaine’s response is immediate.

_I’ll be there. I’m sorry that Sebastian isn't being very nice. ):_

Kurt smiles at Blaine’s message and decides to risk one more text.

_Don’t be sorry, dummy, it isn’t your fault. :P_

Kurt puts his phone away and pulls out his notebook. He isn’t paying too much attention, though. His thoughts keep drifting to why Sebastian got so angry and how considerate Blaine was to ask if he was okay. He looks down at his notebook in horror, realising that he’s been doodling Blaine’s name with hearts and squiggles instead of notes. Kurt looks around to see if anyone noticed, and discreetly rips out the page and crumbles it into a ball. There is no way that Kurt likes Blaine. He refuses to believe it.

Kurt tosses the paper ball at the trash can after class and briskly walks away, deciding to forget that the whole thing ever happened. Out of sight, out of mind. At least it would be if Kurt had actually managed to throw the paper into the trash can.

When Kurt gets to his locker, Blaine is already there, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Have you been waiting long?” Kurt asks as he unlocks his locker.

“Not at all, I’m just excited to talk with you.”

“What’s so exciting about talking?” Kurt closes his locker and readjusts his bag.

“I get to spend time with you,” Blaine says. “Let’s talk outside today. It’ll be nice to have a change of scenery.”

Kurt nods and follows Blaine outside, silently willing the blush on his face to go down. Kurt and Blaine take a seat at one of the empty benches in the school’s courtyard.

“So, what’s going on with you and Sebastian? A heated lover’s quarrel?” Blaine teases.

“Oh, please.” Kurt scoffs, “Sebastian and I aren’t like that. He’s almost like my brother.”

“That’s what they all say.” Blaine hums.

“Seriously, I’ve known him since I was a baby. He used to live in the house next to mine.”

“Wait, really?” Blaine asks.

“Yeah, this isn’t the first fight we’ve ever had. We’ve always manage to make up somehow.” Kurt chuckles, “He broke my mother’s tea pot when I was twelve and I didn’t talk to him for  months.”

Blaine frowns, “But that was your mother’s tea pot.”

“Yes. But, I got over it...eventually.”

“Do you want to tell me about it? About your mom?” Blaine asks tentatively.

Kurt pauses and sighs, “It was just so sudden. One day my mom and I are having tea parties in the backyard, and the next she’s laying in a bland hospital bed, barely alive. I don’t have much left of her. It’s almost like she had never existed at all.”

“Sometimes, when Dad isn’t home and I feel lonely, I go into their bedroom and pull out all of Dad’s old photo albums from when I was little. And, when I open the drawers on her dresser, I can still smell her perfume. I just lay on the floor, and…pretend that she’s still there.”

Kurt stops and wipes the tears from his eyes before they can fall, “I’m sorry...I’ve never told anyone that before.”

Blaine reaches across the table and holds Kurt’s hand, “Don’t be sorry. I’m really honoured that you told me.”

Kurt takes a deep breath and changes the subject, “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day? I was thinking that maybe we could grab a coffee and do some window shopping?”

“Of course, I would love-” Blaine is abruptly cut off by his phone buzzing loudly in his pocket. He pulls out his phone and groans. “I’m supposed to help mom with dinner tonight because dad isn’t here, I completely forgot.”

“Oh.” Kurt says. “Rain check then?”

Blaine suddenly brightens, “I’ll rain check on that coffee, but would you like to have dinner at my house?”

Kurt silently gapes at Blaine.

Oh, should he have not said that?

“Um, I mean, your dad still isn’t home. So, I just thought that maybe you might want to join us for dinner. …I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No! No, I would love to have dinner with you! You just surprised me.”

“So, would you like to have dinner with my mom and I?”

“I have to go home and take care of a few things first, but I’d love to.”

“Alright, then I’ll see you around five, maybe?” Blaine asks as the lunch bell rings, signaling the end of the period.

A smile breaks out onto Kurt’s face as he gathers his things, “Yeah, Five sounds good.”

Blaine can barely contain his excitement when school is finally over. He doesn’t even care he was shoved in the back of group while Rachel sang a duet with Finn again. He doesn’t really understand why having dinner with Kurt and his mother is making him so excited that he’s pushing the speed limit on his way home. It probably has something to do with the fact that his father won’t be home for dinner tonight. Blaine still feels terrible about the way his father treated Kurt. At this point, Kurt is one of Blaine’s closets friends and he won’t let his father ruin his relationship with him. Blaine’s mom has also been bugging Blaine to have Kurt over again. She kept saying something along the lines of properly introducing herself. Blaine assumes that she feels embarrassed by his father as well and wants to make up for it, which Blaine appreciates.

His relationship with his mom is still awkward. He isn’t used to her asking about his day, or what’s going on in Glee Club, or how his friends are doing. He isn’t used to her caring. It’s strange, but good. It may be a few years too late but she’s making an effort, and that’s all Blaine could ask for.

Blaine parks his car and bounds up the the few short stairs to his house, dumping his things at the door when he enters. Pam is already setting out the ingredients for dinner when Blaine walks into the kitchen.

Pam smiles when she sees Blaine, “You’re home early. You didn’t speed did you?” She teases, “I didn’t know that my spinach fettuccine was that good.”

Blaine laughs, “I sure hope it is. I invited someone over for dinner.”

Pam squeals, “Is it Kurt?”

Blaine laughs again and nods.

Pam continues to practically vibrate with excitement and then suddenly stops and starts frantically flipping through her cookbook. “He doesn’t have any allergies, right? Does he like spinach? Is he vegan? Gluten free? What’s his favorite dessert?”

“Woah, slow down. I’m sure spinach is fine.”

“But I want to make a good impression! He obviously has distinguished tastes, just look at your clothes. And he’s the first friend of yours that I’ve met since you were seven. He must be special to you.”

“Um, I didn’t think about it that way.” Blaine said, his cheeks feeling a bit warmer than normal. He clears his throat, “Well, if you really want to make him happy, he loves cheesecake.”

Pam gasps, “Cheesecake, of course! The most sophisticated of cakes.”

Blaine chuckles lightly as Pam begins grabbing packages of cream cheese from the fridge. Blaine checks his watch to see that it’s already 4:30. “Huh, that’s weird.”

Pam drops the pound of spinach that she’s holding, “What’s weird?”

“Oh, it’s just that Kurt would normally already be here. I told him five, but he has this thing about being early to everything. And, knowing him, he’d insist that he help make dinner. So, I expected him to be early.”

“I suppose that is strange. Maybe you’re overthinking it, dear, it’s still only four.”

Blaine stared down at his watch as the seconds ticked by, fighting the feeling that something was very wrong. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

Kurt wipes the sweat from his forehead as he gathered his bags. Cheerio practice went over longer than it was supposed to. It’s already almost four and Kurt still has to go home to change clothes and feed his cat before he can meet Blaine and his mom for dinner. Santana sits down next to Kurt and began scrolling through her phone.

“Did you and Fievel have a fight again? He’s usually waiting for you after practice.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Aw, trouble in paradise?”

Kurt ignores Santana and begins to walk away.

“Fine, fine, I get it. Ixnay on the Ebastiansnay. How about we forget about Andrew McCarthy for tonight and you, Quinn, Britt, and I can grab some food. I know that you’ve been dying for a girl’s night since you’ve been hanging out with Marlon Brando.”

“Um, actually, I already have plans tonight.”

“You already have plans? It’s a Wednesday, what kind of plans could you have?”

“I’m having dinner with Blaine and his mother tonight. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to be late”

“You’re having dinner with his mom? Man, you’ve really got it bad, Hummel.”

“I don’t have anything bad, Santana. Blaine and I are friends and that’s it.”

“Whatever you say, Hummel.”

Kurt’s Navigator is easy to find in the nearly abandoned parking lot. He quickly makes his way to his car and throws his bag in the backseat. He’d normally be more careful with them, but he doesn’t have time to waste. Ms. Kitty tends to get very upset when Kurt doesn’t feed her on time.

As Kurt closes the back door to his car and turns to move to the driver’s side, a large hand clamps down on his shoulder and shoves him into the car.

In the two seconds it takes for his attacker to lift Kurt’s body away from the car and turn him around so he’s face to face with David Karofsky and Azimio Adams, Kurt’s heart stops.

Karofsky leans in close to Kurt’s face so that his mouth is next to his ear and whispers, “Going somewhere, Hummel?”

When Kurt doesn’t answer, Karofsky tightens his grip on his shoulder and backs away, shoving Kurt into the side of his car.

“What do you wanna do to him, Dave?” Azimio asks, pulling his hands out of the pockets of his jacket and cracking a few knuckles.

Karofsky looks down at Kurt and grumbles, “We’re not going to do anything yet.”

Karofsky bends down and gets close enough to Kurt that he can feel Karofsky’s breath on his face.

“Now you listen to me, fairy boy, this is your last warning.” Karofsky pulls a wadded up piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolds it, and slams it into Kurt’s chest. “One more wrong move and you’re dead, Hummel.”

Karofsky stands up and spits on the ground next to Kurt beforing turning to Azimio and motioning for them to leave.

It takes a few minutes till Kurt has the strength to move away from his car. Stumbling forward, Kurt looks down at the piece of paper Karofsky had slapped into his chest. It’s the same paper that he threw away earlier that day. A shiver of dread runs down Kurt’s spine.

 

Kurt pulls up to his house minutes later, still shaken from his run in with Karofsky and Azimio. Ms. Kitty, hearing Kurt come through the door, leaps out of the kitchen and starts meowing down at his feet. Kurt deftly picks up the cat and carries her into the kitchen.

Kurt, moving through a haze, feeds Ms. Kitty and dumps his belongings on the couch, and walks down the stairs to his bedroom.

Now that Kurt is in his bedroom, staring at his reflection in his vanity mirror, he notices how ruffled he is. His clothes are disheveled, his hair is completely flat, and his shoulder is beginning to ache from where Karofsky had grabbed him.

All too suddenly, Kurt’s skin felt highly sensitive. His clothes felt uncomfortable, like they didn’t fit right and were chafing his skin. Kurt began tearing off his layers of clothing until he was standing bare in front of his mirror.

Kurt’s mind was moving all too fast and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. His eyes darted all over his body’s reflection, his eyes catching on the purpling fingerprints of his shoulder and the fading scars on his thighs. Breath catching in his throat, Kurt runs into the bathroom and starts throwing open draws looking for something, anything sharp.

Kurt had thrown away all his razors in an attempt to come clean from his biggest vice and he hasn’t regretted it till now. After sorting through skin care supplies and tooth brushes, his eye finally catches a cheap shaving razor still in it’s packaging.

Kurt rips the razor out of its packaging and fumbles to get the razors out of its cheap plastic confines and accidentally slits open a thin layer of skin on the pad of his finger. The cut stings more than expected and Kurt drops the razor on the floor.

Brought out of his haze, Kurt watches as the smallest drop of blood drips down his finger. With a shaky sigh, Kurt wipes off his finger and grabs his bathrobe, tying it tight around his waist, and runs up stairs to grab his phone and dial up the familiar contact information. The phone rings once, twice, and now Kurt suddenly feels like this has all been a huge mistake.

The phone picks up on the fourth ring.

“What is it, Kurt? It’s the middle of the afternoon, and I’m still mad at you.”

“I’ve had a bad day, Sebastian.”

There’s a pause.

“What do you want?”

Kurt’s breath stutters and he blinks back the shameful tears he feels threatening to spill. God, what would his mother say if she knew all that Kurt’s done?

“I want you to come over.”

Kurt wakes up feeling empty and sore. He pushes the covers off his body and rolls away from Sebastian, who’s still asleep. After quietly rummaging around for his bathrobe, Kurt goes into the kitchen and fills a glass with water. The water is cold and soothes the soreness in his throat from crying.

He walks into the living room, sits on the couch, and wraps himself in the throw blanket lying on the cushion next to him. Kurt picks up his phone from where he had thrown his things onto the couch. He has two missed calls and four texts from Blaine.

_Kurt where are you?_

_Kurt?_

_Did something happen? Are you okay??_

_Is something wrong?? Kurt please answer me. I’m getting really worried._

Kurt feels his stomach sink. Blaine has probably been worrying himself sick over Kurt and he didn’t even think to tell Blaine that he wasn’t coming

“God, I’m such an asshole.” Kurt mutters to himself and quickly types out a message to Blaine.

_I’m so so sorry that I didn’t answer earlier. Ms. Kitty got sick and I had to take her to the vet._

Kurt receives a response in less than a minute.

_Oh no, I’m so sorry she’s sick! ): It’s totally fine and I completely understand. I hope she gets better soon._

Kurt bites his lip to keep from smiling too wide. Blaine is too kind for someone like him. He sends another text.

_I’ll make it up to you and your mom, I promise. How about you and I cancel karaoke this weekend and instead order way too much pizza and binge cheesy 80’s rom coms at my place?_

_That sounds great! You pick the movies and I’ll bring the pizza._

Kurt’s face warms, and he begins typing out a response.

“What are you doing?”

Kurt’s stomach jumps, and he drops his phone on the coffee table.

“S-Sebastian, I thought you were still asleep.”

Sebastian is dressed and leaning against the doorway to the living room.

“Are you texting Blaine?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It doesn’t. I just thought you’d have more class than to text your little boyfriend right after rolling out of bed with another man.” Sebastian says bitterly.

“Blaine isn’t my boyfriend,” Kurt says quietly.

Sebastian scoffs, “I’m so tired of your bullshit, Kurt.”

“You’re tired of my bullshit? Well, I’m tired of your sudden pissy attitude.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes, “I think my attitude is pretty reasonable, since you’ve been blowing me off because of your crush on Anderson.”

“Stop saying that I like Blaine. It’s not like we’re dating, so why would you even care?”

“Maybe I care because we’ve been sleeping together for the past five months!”

“We’re just relieving stress, no feelings or strings attached. You said so yourself.”

“Well, maybe I lied!” Sebastian shouts.

“I...I don’t understand.”

“Don’t be stupid, Hummel.” Sebastian pushes himself off the doorway and stands in front of Kurt. “Do you really not get it? Because I’ve been pretty fucking obvious and I thought you were smart enough to figure it out.”

Kurt opens his mouth to respond, but can’t find the right words and remains silent.

Sebastian sighs, “I lied, Kurt. I lied about there being no feelings. I like you, okay? I have for a long time. And I hate Blaine because you like him. All you do is spend time with him or talk about him, and I fucking hate it. Every time you see him you look like he hung the moon for you and it makes me so fucking angry because I wish you’d look at me that way.”

“I-I’m sorry. I never knew that you felt that way.”

Sebastian shakes his head, “Don’t apologize to me, Hummel. I knew you’d pick Anderson over me.”

“I’m not-”

“Yes you are, don’t lie to me. You have feelings for him. You always have since the day you saw his stupid fucking bow ties in ballet. You didn’t take up the bet to annoy Santana. You did it because you wanted to get closer to Blaine.”

“Shut up.”

“Wake up, Hummel! He doesn’t like you. He likes Evans.”

“I said shut up, Sebastian.”

“I don’t even get why you like him!”

“I don’t like him.”

“Get off your fucking high horse and just accept that you like him!”

“I’m not in love with Blaine Anderson!”

Sebastian stops and shakes his head, “I’m leaving.”

“Sebastian, wait-”

“No! I’m done waiting for you, Hummel. You may not be able to accept the truth, but I can. And I can’t stand here and watch you lie straight through your teeth.”

Sebastian walks out the door, and Kurt is left alone in the shambles that used to be their friendship.


End file.
